Validation Tax
So much was said about the mouth and its affinity
for giving and receiving pleasure that it came
as no surprise when the ministry of art commissioned
a famous artist to make a statue of the tongue
at the museum of love. She didn’t disappoint, sculpting
what looked in isolation like a strange animal, its edges
glazed with the matte finish of frozen strawberry yoghurt.
The massive structure looked like something you wanted
to lick despite knowing it could hurt you bad. You could
ring a bell adjacent to it, feel the vibration of its clapper
while the electromagnetic connection set up by the artist
made sure the tongue got wet and salivating in no time.
In case you wanted to be sure, they charged you
a nominal sum to touch the surface of the tongue.
for giving and receiving pleasure that it came
as no surprise when the ministry of art commissioned
a famous artist to make a statue of the tongue
at the museum of love. She didn’t disappoint, sculpting
what looked in isolation like a strange animal, its edges
glazed with the matte finish of frozen strawberry yoghurt.
The massive structure looked like something you wanted
to lick despite knowing it could hurt you bad. You could
ring a bell adjacent to it, feel the vibration of its clapper
while the electromagnetic connection set up by the artist
made sure the tongue got wet and salivating in no time.
In case you wanted to be sure, they charged you
a nominal sum to touch the surface of the tongue.
| Satya Dash is a recipient of the Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize and a finalist for the Broken River Prize. His poems appear in Ninth Letter, Denver Quarterly, Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, Cincinnati Review, and Diagram, among others. Apart from having a degree in electronics from BITS Pilani-Goa, he has been a cricket commentator. He has been nominated previously for Pushcart, Nina Riggs Poetry Award, Orison Anthology and Best New Poets. He grew up in Cuttack and now lives in Bangalore, India. |